You might like this...

"Carl Fogarty is currently a household name as much for appearances on "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!" which he won in 2014, as much as his incredible motorsport success, but to us he's very much the epitome of "

25 Years of Fireblade Celebrated

2017 denotes the 25th anniversary of Honda’s legendary racer for the road and track - the Fireblade.

Let loose to bikers around the globe in 1992, the performance marque would reach unchartered highs in its class and it would lead the Honda name to near mythological standing.

To celebrate this quarter-of-a-century of Fireblade, Honda UK invited a select group of people, including yours truly, to Rockingham in Northamptonshire recently. I’m talking about being allowed to ride the all-new CBR1000RR Fireblade and the beast-like CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. We also rode them next to a medley of exclusive Fireblades from the last two and a half decades, including an original from 1992.

Without emphasising the point too much, this motorcycle is seriously big news among the sports bike fraternity. Its arrival truly altered the super sport bike landscape forever.

The brainchild of ex-Honda test rider, Tadao Baba, the Fireblade had the potency of a litre bike with the sprightliness of a 600. Progressive thinking from Baba focused on power to weight ratio or, as he termed it, the notion of Total Control – a design mandate that has buttressed every generation of the Honda Fireblade.

Over the last 25 years, each variant of the bike has been manufactured on the spirit of the first Fireblade, providing a tremendously stable package that works unbelievably well on track and, even more significantly, is both thrilling and fulfilling to ride on the road. 2017’s Fireblade takes the Total Control Concept to another level, with a power to weight ratio 65 per cent better than the 1992 original Baba ushered in.

David Hodgetts is the managing director at Honda UK. He said: “The last quarter of a century has seen real change, technologically, environmentally and socially. Social media didn’t exist in 1992. The internet was in its embryonic stage. Global warming was starting to rear its head. And Ebeneezer Goode was at the top of the pop charts, courtesy of The Shamen!

“The past 25 years has seen over 12 different versions of the Fireblade. The next two and a half decades look ready to be just as breath-taking. With Honda’s electrification stratagem, the future is wide open, but enormously bright – and very fast.”

Fireblade Fast Facts:

Tadao Baba had stepped down by 2004. As a mark of respect, the capital letter ‘B’ in the name ‘FireBlade’ was axed from this point, except for a special edition revival of the Urban Tiger paint-scheme in 2014.

The planet’s first titanium fuel tank on a mass-production motorbike is attached to 2017’s Fireblade SP. It saves 1kg over the regular tank.

Just 500 of the road-authorised homologation special 2017 Fireblade SP2’s will be manufactured.

Honda is the manufacturer with the most Isle of Man TT race successes, boasting more than 250 conquests to date. The latest was the closing battle of the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races with John McGuinness.

Price-tags on the 2017 Honda Fireblade all end in ‘25’, in tribute to the bike’s 25th birthday.

You might like this...

"Commemorating 25 years of the Fireblade and Type R at Rockingham in Northamptonshire recently, Honda gave us the chance to ride Fireblades, as well as drive the Civic Type R, the Integra and the Accord.
We’ve already told you about "

or this...

"
If you're a lover of the classic and a have an inbred desire for things mechanical, the Honda RC 166 is a thing of true, timeless beauty.
The inline six 250 was winner of 10 out of 10 races in the 1966 World Championships series "

Related Articles

"The days of working on your own bike (or car) have been pretty scarce in more recent years, but custom-builds are gradually becoming more and more popular. Jay Shepherd tells us his story.
As a self-employed builder, Jay’s bike "

"More and more females are jumping on two-wheels, and why the hell not?! We talk to female motorcycle group VC London to see what they love about the UK motorbike scene.
Danni Bagnall: So, just what is VC London all "

"The warmth of welcome at the Oxfordshire based factory of Métisse is not unlike being invited into a family home.
The host, in this house of motorcycling alchemy, is Gerry Lisi - a friendly, honest gentleman with no airs "

"A simple frame. Direct drive. Wide bars. Tiny tank.
The fundamentals of a speedway bike have changed as little as the art of the oval itself.
Here are nine bikes from nine decades.
Can you spot the changes?
[gallery link=""

"On Thursday 22nd November Influx went Underground.
We didn’t go alone, of course. We were joined by a flood of Influxy types, from car designers and journalists, to design students, insurance personnel and – of course – passionate motoring enthusiasts, we "

"Well, that’s the second edition of the House of Vans Assembly Chopper Show done and dusted for another year and what a show it was!
Bike enthusiasts from across the world – as far as America! – united at the House "

"Influx caught up with 2017 European Female Skateboarder of the Year Josie Millard in her hometown of Brighton to discuss her love of two and four wheels.
Influx: When did you get into skateboarding?
Josie Millard: "I probably started skating properly "

"Ah, Paris.
Home to art, love, wine, landmarks and many, many dented automobiles. They come in all shapes and sizes (the cars, not the bodywork blemishes) – and in those pretty streets lives something a little more exotic than your average 2"